Bonito: A Town That Lives Up To its Name

We were very fortunate to hear about Bonito, Brazil from our friend Max when he traveled with us in Bolivia. Although the guidebooks write about Bonito, and many blogs mention it, we probably would not have gone without the helpful tip. Bonito is known for its crystal clear fresh water rivers, pools, and waterfalls. Around the town are numerous privately owned attractions, municipal swimming areas, and a few parks for hiking. This meant most activities required a tour and things became pretty pricey, fast. But over a few days we made the most, even though it rained for some of them (up on until this point we really did not have any bad weather that impacted the trip, not bad for five months).
After perusing blogs, speaking with different tour groups in town, and seeing the poor weather forecast we decided to go for the number one attraction first, Rio da Prata. To begin the tour we drove through open farmland to an area of preserved forest where we walked about a mile to the river in our wet suits. Warmed up from the short trek we were ready to jump into the cool spring fed river and begin snorkeling down through the forest. Floating along the snaking river for almost 1.5 miles we saw numerous fish, including golden dorado, and bubbling springs where the water came up from the earth to join the river. The experience played with our senses - looking up we were immersed in the forest with the wind rustling the leaves and the overwhelming sounds of birds and insects, and then looking down into the complete silence of the clearest water we have ever seen. Unfortunately we could not bring our camera on this tour but we pulled together some photos that highlight the experience.

One of the entry points into the Rio da Prata

Walking along the preserved forest to the river

A "volcanic" spring where fresh water comes up into the river

The forest is thick along the river

Some of the many schools of fish you see

As mentioned, the weather really did not cooperate while in Bonito so although we managed to get in a few other excursions we mostly stayed around the sleepy town watching the tropical birds fly around. And of course marveling at our hostel's hilarious design flaw...

Stairs to nowhere